Psy performs “Gangnam Style” on Today Show, outsells your fave on iTunes

Psy rocked the Today Show earlier this morning with a killer performance of his mega-hit “Gangnam Style”, working up a huge crowd of eager Psypporters while you stayed at home like a bitter bitch, eating your breakfast alone and cursing K-pop to yourself.

Psy also sat down for a cute interview with one of the show’s hosts, politely chatting in Engrish and charming the audience with his endearing personality (and not throwing gum at his fans).

“Gangnam Style” has become a bona fide global sensation, surprising both K-pop’s biggest supporters and most staunch naysayers. The video is now up to 170 million views on Youtube, while the song has reached a new peak of No. 2 on iTunes. According to Billboard, “Gangnam Style” is set to shift around 100,000 copies by the time the next chart is compiled, which will further increase it’s position on the Hot 100 (it currently sits No. 64).

While “Gangnam Style” is now dominating iTunes, Youtube, and now TV screens, radio is still hesitant to give the song the kind of airplay that any other English-language song with the same kind of success would be garnering right now. Hopefully radio can start actually giving people what they so clearly want by embracing “Gangnam Style”, because it’d be a shame for the hit not to reach its full chart potential just because of poor airplay.

Check out Psy’s Today Show debut below.


This entry was posted on Friday, September 14th, 2012 at 3:24 pm and is filed under Performances. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

  • Synchorotical

    What’s with the Xtina shade?
    She threw it to her assistant for fucks sake.

    Happy for Psy! KPOP RULES! <3

  • theprophetblog

    I was just teasing :P

    Damn Xtina fans are ratchet!

  • Synchorotical

    LOL Proph xDDDDD I was never rachet xDDDD Sorry I’m in full blast Xtina stan mode atm.

    I LOVE YOU!!!! OMG. LIKE REALLY xDDD

  • Fay

    Xtina fans aren’t ratchet proph; please don’t confuse us with Brandy and Beyonce stans.
    We just got a drop of water with the official release and album tea today and are on full on Stan mode for Lotustina today and until November 13th lol!

    But yeah those today show hosts are really annoying.

  • Ixion07

    Damn, Psy is unstoppable at the moment, huh *inmykatdelunavoice*

  • http://www.twitter.com/tonybrabander Tony Brabander

    This is great. It’s just a shame that one of the most successful KPOP tracks on the Billboard 100 looks like a novelty song to the US audience.

    So feels bitter sweet for me… but brilliant that PSY has had this much exposure.

  • http://twitter.com/charliekelso C. K.

    LOL I don’t know why I feel happy for this guy and hate LMFAO, since it’s basically the same sound. Maybe because his video is actually funny.

  • http://twitter.com/rentrule12 ana

    he doing well on radio it already is at 31 on mediabase many radio stations are adding it on rotation it went to adds on the 11th so more people need to request it

  • Boops

    I was just eating my breakfast alone while reading this. How did you know?!

  • Juztoon

    This is the excited and ‘into it’ I’ve seen a crowd get during a performance on The Today Show. It actually made me like the song more, yes its kinda like LMFAO but it has a certain ‘feel good factor’ that i don’t really get from PRA.

  • shamelesskclarkstan

    again – and please don’t delete this comment like the last time… it’s LMFAO meets Pitbull meets the Macarena. America loves a fad. It’s not at all a validation of K/C/J whatever other letter- Pop. And you know it!

  • SerferTJ

    Stop. There was nothing ratchet about that comment. He made a statement and complimented Psy. @6cb06e0f2cc984f023c81f05c56cbc98:disqus has nuthin to appologize for.
    Now if u want ratchet comments, go to the last post with Psy & Britney…
    “OMG No one cares about Psy or K-FLOP, it’s all about Britney! She SLAYED that dance better than Psy, Ellen and ya faves!!!! X-Factor will dominate!”
    lol

  • SerferTJ

    wtf Madonna? I meant to say Synchorotical has nuthin to appologize for.

  • SerferTJ

    NAILED IT!!! Damn, I’m so happy for Psy. All of this success couldn’t have been given to some one more humble and deserving! Break dem records fool!!!

    Now let me try and learn the dance before all of my friends catch up on the craze…

  • JonatanMejia.com

    That’s exactly how I feel, not saying Psy deserves it at all but I’m just hoping the following song can meet up to some standards of success that this song is having so it wont seem like a novelty song at ll

  • http://ohdenny.com ohdenny

    Number 1 on iTunes jebus.

  • dood

    don’t even mention LMFAO, PSY has been in this business since 12 yrs ago doing the same style.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Manu-Barber/626285829 Manu Barber

    They’ve been playing it on the radio where i am! I call up all the time to request it! Almost crying with tears of joy whenever i hear them play it! :P

  • http://www.facebook.com/LeeTeckYing Landon Lee

    Nice performance! I just can’t stop lol at the hyper middle age women in the crowd.

  • narcs

    you know he will forever be a one hit wonder.

  • http://www.facebook.com/lucaswoodstock Lucas Oliveira Dantas

    these north american promotions is making me love psy by the day. not only because he’s achieving with ease the k-pop struggle to break into the american market, but for most of all how humble and classy he always is on each appearance.

    even if gangnam style becomes the crazy exotic thing of du jour in america and after this no one gives a damn about psy or k-pop [which we all must agree is most likely to happen], let the man have his time and let k-pop fans in general have theirs as well!!

    i’ve been reading some way too serious articles about how “gangnam style” is doing no favor to the halyu wave because it is a gimmick trend; and while i agree with that at some extent, it all seems like bias envy that it is not YOUR fave who’s rocking the world right now.

    i really hope the “gangnam style” phenomenon helps to bring more welcoming awareness to k-pop instead of the usual cold disbelief it gets from non-fan audiences. but that’s with the future, for now let’s just be happy and dance gangnam style because it’s main reason is FUN!

  • CC Sub

    Billboard recently made changes to its formula to increase digital sales + online streaming over radio airplay to its Hot 100 Singles Chart, so ‘Gangnam Style’ will eventually get in the Top 20 on Hot 100.

    But even with all this ‘so-called’ success, Gangnam Style is seen as a JOKE / GAG / ASIAN GUY TO MOCK AT. It is just something funny that American audiences can laugh at a fat ugly middle-aged Asian rapper doing a catchy tune ‘rapping’ in a language that 99.2% of the audience doesnt understand while he is prancing the stage around doing the ‘horse jockey dance’.

    To most Americans, PSY is just William Hung – of American Idol infamy – with a great song.

    After this PSY viral ‘thing’ is over in the next weeks, he will fade in obscurity in the US (of course he will have his popularity in Korea) like whoever did the ‘Macarena’ or “99 LuftBallons” or any of the numerous one-hit wonders that have littered the US Singles Charts.

    But if PSY did one thing, he proved that an Korean-language song can ‘make it’ in the US, even if done by a buffoonish caricature known as PSY. Hopefully this will get other Kpop artists noticed by the American music industry. Notice that I specified Korean-language song and not Asian-language song as in the 60′s, ‘Sukiyaki’ by Kyu Sakamoto hit #1 on the Billboard Charts. Unlike PSY, Kyu Sakamoto made the ladies swoon and wasnt a dancing monkey that Americans laughed at.

    … and what did that do for Japanese (or Asian artists) in the US – NOTHING.

  • http://twitter.com/xjnorwood J

    No, I’ve actually heard this song a few times on American top 40 radio stations already

  • Shulan

    I live in a college town in the American midwest and Gangnam Style is everywhere. I heard it on the radio the other day, and last night they played it at the bar and everyone knew the dance. It’s kind of crazy.

  • iAmJayDO

    While I agree that Psy is eventually going to fall off from the Gangnam fame… I really disagree with your “Asian guy to mock” and “fat ugly middle aged” thing. While his video IS funny, I doubt the fact that he’s ‘unattractive’ or international has anything to do with it really. The beat of the song is something to love while the dance is catching a craze for whatever reason. I’ve always liked Psy ever since he joined YGE, but I never really caught onto this song until I watched the video and fell in love with it more. Never really thought it would get this big. But I’m a Kpop lover so my opinion doesn’t really matter in that respect.

    As for the average American, I want to say it’s his dance and silly video that gets the most attention. NOT that he’s unattractive and all that other insulting crap you said about him. A lot of people who have no idea anything about Korea that I know actually love everything about him. My co-worker today told me “You know, he’s not that attractive of a person BUT he seems like a really cool and nice person.” Even my friends on facebook post his video saying how much they love the song. I haven’t really head anyone outside of the Korea entertainment industry talk about how ‘ugly’ he is. That comment always disturbed me that it even mattered to them.

    I’d hardly compare him to William Hung who was just someone to laugh at because of a terrible voice, face and style of dressing. William was so bad it was funny while Psy is funny while being good.

  • http://twitter.com/FauxKingLuke Luke

    So this is Gangnam Style? It’s catchy and It’s cool that any K-Pop song is making major waves in the US. Even if he’s a one hit wonder there who cares, he still has his career in Korea and has something to be proud of. The US isn’t everything, Look at Kylie.

  • http://twitter.com/Myrmicinae Brendicienta

    Your point of view is the most rational of all. Let him have his glorious day, because he´s really making history!

  • http://www.facebook.com/lucaswoodstock Lucas Oliveira Dantas

    yeah! and just now, after 25 years in the business kylie has gained some attention in the US. people are too psychotic about breaking into the north american scene, the whole world is falling for you but it’s not the united states it’s nothing!

  • http://twitter.com/FauxKingLuke Luke

    Exactly, Just do what you can where you can, A record sale is a record sale whether it’s in America, Britain, Korea, Japan or Latvia lol you’re still getting your money.

  • http://twitter.com/nickynacker nicky

    This. I haven’t seen anyone mocking him and I’m tired of people saying this. His video is funny and not meant to be taken seriously. I mean, how could it be? What other reaction could it get? Grammy nominations? People are having fun with it and he’s been getting nothing but respect from what I’ve seen.